Financial Counselors Inc. Has $595,000 Stock Position in Fiserv, Inc. (NYSE:FI)

Financial Counselors Inc. increased its stake in shares of Fiserv, Inc. (NYSE:FI) by 4.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,896 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 113 shares during the period. Financial Counselors Inc.’s holdings in Fiserv were worth $595,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Marshall Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Fiserv during the 4th quarter worth about $29,000. Valley National Advisers Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Fiserv in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Compass Financial Services Inc bought a new position in Fiserv during the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. Campbell Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in Fiserv during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Finally, Knuff & Co LLC bought a new stake in Fiserv in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $45,000. Institutional investors own 90.98% of the company’s stock.

Fiserv Price Performance

NYSE:FI opened at $216.15 on Friday. Fiserv, Inc. has a 52-week low of $145.98 and a 52-week high of $238.59. The company has a market cap of $121.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.10, a P/E/G ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 0.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a current ratio of 1.06. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $222.00 and its 200 day simple moving average is $207.67.

Fiserv (NYSE:FI) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The business services provider reported $2.51 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.48 by $0.03. Fiserv had a return on equity of 17.93% and a net margin of 15.31%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Fiserv, Inc. will post 10.23 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Fiserv declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback program on Thursday, February 20th that allows the company to buyback 60,000,000 shares. This buyback authorization allows the business services provider to repurchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Oppenheimer lifted their price target on shares of Fiserv from $214.00 to $239.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. KeyCorp lifted their target price on Fiserv from $250.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Barclays increased their price target on Fiserv from $235.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. StockNews.com started coverage on Fiserv in a report on Sunday, March 23rd. They set a “buy” rating on the stock. Finally, Stephens increased their target price on Fiserv from $255.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-one have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $242.32.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, COO Guy Chiarello sold 45,000 shares of Fiserv stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $235.55, for a total transaction of $10,599,750.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 227,711 shares in the company, valued at approximately $53,637,326.05. This trade represents a 16.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.75% of the company’s stock.

Fiserv Profile

Fiserv, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, provides payments and financial services technology services in the United States, Europe, the Middle East and Africa, Latin America, the Asia-Pacific, and internationally. It operates through Merchant Acceptance, Financial Technology, and Payments and Network segments.